The Ricoh Caplio R2 offers an unusually wide 28 - 135mm zoom range, coupled with a 5.02 effective megapixel RGB CCD image sensor. The camera forgoes any form of optical viewfinder, instead offering one of the larger 2.5" LCD displays that seem to be in vogue this year.

The camera offers versatility in its selection of power source - either a bundled proprietary DB-50 rechargeable battery, or two AA batteries that can be purchased just about anywhere if you're caught with an uncharged battery. Images are stored in 28MB of built-in memory, or on Secure Digital / MultiMediaCard media. They can be transferred to a computer over a USB 1.1 connection, or viewed on a TV courtesy of a switchable NTSC / PAL video connection.

The Ricoh Caplio R2 will ship from March 18th, with monthly production of 50,000 units. Pricing has not been publicly disclosed at this time.